Testing students is commonly used to help determine the knowledge students have learned over a course. Testing is commonly debated between students on whether or not it accurately represents their knowledge of the content they learned.
Testing scores enables teachers to help place students in the right classes, get them access to help where they are struggling, and determine what colleges they get into.
Students all learn in different ways. Learning styles have an immense impact on how well students do in certain classes. Learning styles can consist of visual, auditory, reading, writing, and kinesthetic.
Depending on the size of a unit being taught, test lengths can differ. The lengths can range from five minutes to three hours or more. Tests also can be set up in different styles like multiple choice, short answer, essay questions, and more.
Many students suffer from adhd and other learning disabilities which can affect students abilities to focus on tests and complete them. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or adhd affects students ability to stay on task and pay attention at school. This might affect their ability to perform accurately or represent their overall knowledge.
Highlands students answered a poll on their opinions about testing, 73.7% of students felt as if they struggle to stay focused throughout testing and 52.2% of students do not believe that testing is beneficial for them. Sophomore Eva Weinel struggles to stay focused taking tests. Weinel said: “I can only focus on a few questions at a time before I lose focus.”
Majority of colleges require SAT and ACT scores to apply or be accepted into college programs. Both tests take over two hours on average and take months to prepare for. Students with learning disabilities and trouble focusing can have complications performing or focusing during these tests but have no choice but to participate if students want a chance to apply to college.
To prepare for upcoming tests students are expected to spend time studying the context they learned from units taught to them. Students feel as if studying for a test is only a representation of memory and not overall understanding of the topic. Senior Jonathan Schiller feels as if testing is not overall accurate and mainly based off of the information he memorized studying. Jonathan said “I feel like testing only shows teachers what I remember in the moment and not my overall understanding.”
Overall testing can be a tool for teachers to help assess their students’ understanding on a unit after teachers have taught their students. Depending on students ability to focus or certain disabilities the data pulled from the testing might not be a good representation of their best knowledge.